


Night at the Museum, Welcome to the Truth

by RealityXIllusion



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Ahkmenrah Needs a Hug, Angst and Feels, Characters Watching Their Movie Trailers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forced Imprisionment, Gen, Larry Daley is scared but cares, Nicky wants Ahkmenrah to be Included, Panic Attacks, Parental Larry Daley, Previous Night Guards were abusive assholes, Rated M due to Cursing, Slow To Update, Stereotypes, The Tablet of Ahkmenrah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-22 10:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22348333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: It happened so suddenly that they weren't even aware something was wrong until they vanished. Captured by some strange spirit, the entire group is gathered in some room, and in the very back hiding within the shadows by himself is the Pharaoh, Ahkmenrah, still wrapped in his bandages.ORThey're gathered to watch the trailers for the first Night at the Museum and some scenes from the movie.
Relationships: Ahkmenrah & Claustrophobia, Theodore Roosevelt/Sacajawea (Night at the Museum)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 109
Collections: Characters Watch/Read Canon/Fanon





	1. Out of Place, Out of Time

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a old story of mine from my fanfiction (.)net account, I want to apologize for not updating this in a very long time, it's been 5 years I think? This is the first chapter I had originally posted but rewritten. Most of it has changed. I want to start writing for this fandom once more. I cannot find the movies in stores just yet but I am ordering them and hope to use them to write a watching the movie story as well!  
> For some reason, on YouTube the original trailers I used for this story aren't there. I will be using "fake" trailers, mostly scenes from the movie in order to show the characters. Once I find the official trailers I shall add those in as well.  
> Sorry ahead of time for any OOCness between the characters, I need to get used to writing them all over again.

Once more just as night fell upon the museum and its inhabitants, slowly they all became animated once again. Free to move about in their own exhibit and interact with one another should they choose to do so... And if the security guards agree to let them out. All except for one, for yet another night the pharaoh Ahkmenrah remains trapped within his sarcophagus. Just as Ahkmenrah fourth King of the Fourth King, ruler of the land of his fathers opened his eyes as air flowed into his lungs, the tablet began to glow once more. As those who dwell within the museum at night remained unaware, a dim white light, steadily growing brighter, begins to seep from within the tablet. Pulsing through the air, specks of sand mixed in as it drifts through the room over toward where Ahkmenrah lay in his sarcophagus. The stream in the air breaks apart, forming thin tendrils as they go out in search of their selected person.

The one tendril stayed within a few feet of the sarcophagus, waiting patiently. It darts towards the thin opening which forms as Ahkmenrah begins to move, banging his fists and pleading to be let out. His voice quickly growing louder as the seconds tick by.

One by one the other tendrils snake forward, wrapping around their unsuspecting victims just as the tablet begins to shake. Six of the tendrils remained inside the museum while two others sneak out through the air ducts and flew through the night air in separate directions, until they reach the final two the tablet requires. Light flared from the tablet quickly and casing the entire Museum to the point where no single person could see any of the others walking nearby. In two bedrooms located outside of the museum, light flares, encasing the entire room before all at once the light in all three areas dies down revealing everything, and everyone frozen in time.

With nine people now missing.

Screaming, a group of people appear in midair falling quickly to the ground and landing in a pile on top of one another.

In a matter of seconds, all chaos broke loose as each of them regains awareness of their surroundings.

Attila the Hun screamed, causing the others to panic as he fled away from them falling into a defensive stance a few feet away. Teddy Roosevelt slowly got to his feet, straightening his outfit briefly before reaching out to help Sacajawea to her feet and blushing slightly as she thanked him with a small smile. His chest heaving as he gasped for air, Nicky's eyes darted around the room searching for a familiar face before finally landing on his dad who was dusting off his pants and staring at the others with wide eyes. Nicky wasted no time in rushing over to his dad, almost running over the two miniature figures he hadn't noticed standing by his feet. Octavius and Jedediah, the two miniatures who Nicky had almost stepped on, scrambled frantically out of the way. Both of them running towards the table they noticed off to the side away from where the others were all standing.

Everyone was so preoccupied with trying to figure out just what was going on and where they were at that none of them even noticed a fully wrapped mummy appear behind them. The Mummy fell backwards landing on his backside and scrambling back to hide in the shadows, clearly distressed.

_"Enough! All of you stop talking!"_

The Voice echoed throughout the room, bouncing off the walls and ringing through all of their ears. Jedediah and Octavius clutched their ears in pain as the loud voice only grew in volume.

_“President Roosevelt, if you wouldn’t mind, there are two miniatures on the ground over by the table. Please pick them up and place them on the table before they get stepped on.”_

Teddy hesitated before doing as was asked of him. 

None of them knew where the odd voice was coming from, nor did they truly understand what was going on. Teddy had to cup both Jedediah and Octavius in his hands, carefully to keep them from falling or moving too much as they were both curled up with their hands over their ears.

Teddy cleared his throat, “Excuse me, but I do think- Perhaps you are speaking just a tad too loud for their ears?”

 _“I’m so sorry!”_ The voice lowered itself drastically, coming out as a mere whisper from wherever the source may be, _“Jedediah and Octavius, are you two alright? I forgot about watching how loud I spoke, I’m sorry!”_

Warily, both of the miniatures stood up on the coffee table.

Jedediah had his hands on his hips, shaking his head slightly as he called-out, "Better now that all of ya aren't hollerin’ no more!"

Teddy started looking up at the ceiling, unsure where else to direct his attention as he asked, "My dear lad, Where is it that we are?"

_"I have brought all of you here in order to clear up a few misunderstandings that have been happening not only for the past few years but will also happen in the days to come."_

"Days to come? Do you mean like in the future?" Nicky blurted out, pushing himself into his dad's side as everyone's eyes settled on him.

_"Before any of you get sidetracked, let me get the introductions out of the way and then I can finish explaining just what is going on here."_

"Oh god," Larry moaned guiding Nicky over to the couch near where the table is at, "Your mom's going to kill me. This can’t be real..."

"Now, why would the boy's mother wish to… to kill you...?"

Larry turned his head to see a tiny man, one of the so-called miniatures, dressed in red and silver, Larry yelled as he realized just who was speaking to him.

"Geez! Hey Gigantor! Keep it down will ya?!"

 _“Ok, okay! Larry please don’t freak out! First let me introduce you all to one another, okay? I promise I’ll explain what’s going on soon!”_ Once everyone quieted down, the voice sighed before quickly beginning introductions, _"First off, let's start with Former President of the United States Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt!"_

Teddy straightened his back and smiled kindly at everyone, winking at Nicky's awed gaze. Larry froze in place, staring at all of them with a look constantly shifting from horror to excitement to awe then horror once again.

_"Next up, we have the lovely Sacajawea."_

Sacajawea smiled kindly as well and her eyes lingered on Nicky, she truly loved children, and the excited gleam in his eye was contagious.

_"The monkey hiding behind the couch is known as Dexter."_

Dexter screeched, sticking his tongue out at Larry and launching himself up onto a giggling Nicky's shoulders.

_"Attila the Hun."_

Attila yelled at Larry who immediately took a step back, no one could understand what the man was saying but were content not to get too close.

_“Then, the two miniatures I mentioned earlier, the cowboy would be Jedeiah Smith, and the other is a roman general by the name of Octavius.”_

"Well shoot, if I'd known we were havin' some sort of gatherin' I'd have worn some fancy clothes!" Jedediah chuckled.

"Ignore the fool, it is a pleasure to meet you..." Octavius trailed off staring at Larry and Nicky expectantly.

"Huh? Oh! I-I'm Lawrence Daley but you guys can just call me Larry, and this is my son, Nicky." Larry gestured awkwardly to the both of them, "...Uh, the mysterious voice from the ceiling? You...you said these were the...exhibits from the museum? What exactly did you mean by that?"

_“Thank you for introducing yourselves, there is one more guest but he shall meet all of you at the end of this lovely gathering but only if he wants too. Also, Larry Daley has been hired as a new night guard to work at the Museum. Let me start by explaining who I am, I am simply a wandering spirit that is quite worried about the well-being of all of you. I will not give my name or really expand upon who I am. That’s not important. What is important is that you are all here to witness future events. Mr. Daley, these are the exhibits from the Museum, located in the Ancient Egypt exhibit there is a golden tablet, a tablet with very special abilities. Every night until sunrise, the exhibits of the Museum come to life thanks to the tablets power.”_

“....Is this some kind of dream? It is right? I’m dreaming this, this isn't real?”

“I’m afraid not Lawrence," Teddy grimaced, "None of us know just what the tablet is capable of, other than the Pharaoh that resides in that exhibit.”

"Ok. Okay… I-I'm gonna try not to freak out right about now..." Larry took a deep breath in, "How come the Pharaoh, whatever his name is, isn't here with us? If it’s his tablet, shouldn’t he be here?"

"Heavens no!" Teddy's eyes widened as he took a step closer to Larry, "Lawrence, ever since the Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Ahkmenrah had arrived at the museum in 1952, all of the exhibits, including myself, came to life each night. However, If the exhibits are outside of the museum during sunrise then.. well then we turn to dust. The Pharaoh himself is never to be let out! He is not a kind man, he cannot be set free to roam the halls of the Museum. With that tablet by his side, I fear for what he may do to us all."

Larry turned to look at the others as well, he was surprised to see just how scared of this Pharaoh they all were.

The mummy still hidden in the back of the room, shrouded in the shadows curled in on himself and stared blankly at the floor, _'...Never to be let out… he was going to be trapped in his sarcophagus for eternity...'_

"...But… Why can't he ever come out?" Nicky asked cautiously, “You guys have never met him, have you? So how do you know he’s a bad person?”

"Young Nicholas..." Teddy knelt down in front of him, "He-"

"Nicky."

"Pardon?"

"You called me Nicholas. Please don't, you can just call me Nicky."

"Very well then Nicky… the Pharaoh cannot be let out because he is a very evil man… he is a danger to all of us and cannot be set loose upon the museum! It would result in pure chaos! many wouldn't be safe, including your father if he really is to be the new night guard."

_"All right that's enough! All of you take a seat."_

Just as they were beginning to wonder how they would fit all of them on one couch, Larry wanted to make sure Nicky wasn’t near that Attila the Hun guy, multiple cushioned recliner chairs appeared for everyone to sit in, there were ever miniature recliners seated on the coffee table for Jedediah and Octavius to sit in. In the back of the room, a sleek, mahogany couch appears partially hidden by the shadows. The mummy, otherwise known as the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah, didn’t seem to notice the couch as he stayed where he was, crouched down on the floor against the wall with his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

_“I am letting you all know ahead of time that all time outside of this room as frozen, you do not need to worry about being late for anything or the sunrise. When you all return to where you were at, time shall begin moving once more. I will not allow for any violence to take place here, if any of you try to harm one another, I will take action. However, for now, sit back, relax and enjoy the makeshift trailers. As well as bits of taken future moments between you all.”_

A screen slowly lowered itself in the front of the room, wide enough to take up nearly the whole wall. As the others settled down, preparing themselves to see the future now that they were all calm (thanks to a small bit of vapor filling the room in order to ensure they all remained compliant), a thin but warm blanket appeared over the Pharaoh’s shoulders, along with a bucket and a washcloth by his side. In hieroglyphs, written on a thin sheet of paper, it said,

_I know you are worried about being here, please know that I will not let any harm come your way. It’s a bit hard to breathe wrapped in all of that, please consider taking your bandages off and feel free to use a washcloth to remove any dirt or sand._

And so it began...


	2. And so it Begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trailer is in Bold  
> Actions/ “Dialogue”  
> “Mysterious Voice” is Italicized

He didn’t want to be there, wherever they were. 

It started with a low hum, the noise seemingly coming from all directions in the room. Ahkmenrah tried to find the source of the noise but without moving, he could not place where it was coming from. His flinched as an odd noise filled the air, similar to that of a shrieking cat, before dying out as a series of images appeared on the wall before them all. He couldn't see properly, not with the bandages over his eyes. Only… he did want them off. He's been wanting them off since the first time the tablet brought him back, but he couldn't do that here. Not when he was surrounded by so many people he did not know, not when they clearly weren't people who wanted ‘ _ The Pharaoh _ ’ around. Only, just as it has been like ever night before, Ahkmenrah struggled to breathe through the bandages and the dirt. It was suffocating him, some nights if he was lucky, the lack of air flow would be enough to render him unconscious.

He wasn’t sure if he could risk losing consciousness while surrounded by strangers.

The miniatures he would not have to worry about, the young boy either, it was the adults he needed to keep an eye on.

The screen flickered in and out, images popping up only to disappear just as quickly.

_ “Fu-Fudge. I was going to say, Fudge. Okay so the Trailers aren’t working, I swear technology hates me. So I’m sorry about this but you guys are going to be shown clips from all that shall happen instead. Just think of it as scenes from a movie?” _

“What are you talking about?” Larry asked, trying to calm his frantically beating heart as the sudden reappearance of the mysterious voice startled him.

_ “What I mean is I can’t get the trailers to work, but I have a script of the so-called ‘movie’ that is your guys’ lives. I won’t show you everything, where’s the fun in that? But I shall show you as much as I can to prepare you for what’s ahead, hopefully, that will clear up any future and past misunderstandings. Alrighty, let’s get started!” _

Ahkmenrah shuddered, an odd chill passing through him as he could barely make out the image of what he assumed was the hall leading further into his room in the museum appeared on the- the screen.

**"...And, finally, this is the temple of the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah. And in that tomb right down there, the Pharaoh himself."**

“Who’s he?” Larry frowned at the screen before noticing one of the miniatures from earlier waving at him, bending awkwardly to move close enough, to the one he was pretty sure was named Jedediah, to hear him properly, “What’d you say?”

“I said, his names, Cecil Fredericks!” Jedediah crossed his arms, scowling, “He’s one of the damned night guards at the museum.”

“Hey!” Larry quickly sat up and covered a protesting Nicky’s ears, “You mind not cursing in front of my son?”

“O-Oh, uh, sorry about that Gigantor, mini-Gigantor.”

Teddy gestured at the screen, “Other than Cecil, there are two other night guards at the museum, Gus and Reginald.”

“Are they going to show up too?”

“Dad,” Nicky pushed Larry’s hands away from his ears, “You do realize that even if you do that, I can still hear you guys, right?”

“Just,” Larry sighed, “Just don’t repeat any of this back to your mother alright?”

**"Neat."**

**"And hanging on the wall behind him… was his most prized possession, the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. Twenty-four-carat gold. It's worth a fortune."**

Ahkmenrah tilted his head at the screen, squinting to try and see better, he remembered Cecil… he did not like that man. Or the others, he only met them once before they decided it was for the best to keep him locked away, he didn’t like any of them. Nor did he feel very comfortable with the way Cecil spoke about his tablet. How was he supposed to keep it safe, keep his family’s treasure safe from people like the likes of Cecil if he was continuously locked away every night? He couldn’t see anything other than the darkness of his own prison.

**"Very cool."**

**"It is indeed, Larry. All right. Report here at 5 tomorrow. We'll walk you through your duties."**

**"Okay, 5. I'll be here."**

As the screen faded to black, Larry turned toward Teddy who to him seemed to be the calmest one there, “Who’s Ah-ahk- Ahkmenrah? I mean, I know he’s the Pharaoh and you guys seem to hate him but-”

_ “If you wait with your questions and keep watching then you may find your answers there.” _

“Oh, uh sorry.”

They all watched in silence as images danced across the screen, moving far too quickly for any of them to be able to make anything out. 

“Is it broken?” Octavious murmured, eyeing the large screen warily.

_ “Sorry, it’s not broken I promise. There’s just some things that I don’t want you guys to see.” _

“While we wait for this to… to finish,” Teddy cleared his throat, “Will we be meeting the one you said will be joining us later?”

_ “No, you will not.” _

“Why?” 

_ “Because, Sac-er is it okay if I can you that? I don’t want to say your name wrong.” _

Sacajawea smiled, “It is fine.”

_ “I don’t want you guys to meet him because I don’t trust you guys to stay calm and I want him to feel welcomed.” _

“What do you mean?” Nicky asked, “Why wouldn’t he feel welcomed.”

_ “Because of misunderstandings, that is why I brought you all here. I want you guys to have a chance to right your wrongs. Also, for this to be a lesson to you and your dad.” _

Teddy frowned, “I’m afraid I do not understand your reasoning.”

The others let out murmurs of agreement while Attila ignored them all and looked around the room they were in. He could understand the others, and knew why they were there though the sorcery of the voice still didn’t make sense to him. If the voice wanted to show them things then why keep stopping and why not just show them it all?

_ “You will.” _

**“Yell all you want, pharaoh. You've been in there for 54 years. You're not getting out tonight. There's the source of all this commotion. The Tablet of Ahkmenrah. Arrived here in 1952 from the Nile expedition. On that night, everything in this museum came to life and every night since.”**

“What? Why?!” Nicky cried out, breaking the silence that fell over them all since the last interruption.

“Whoa, Nicky what’s wrong? Why, what?” Larry gave his son a once-over, trying to figure out just what caused Nicky to look so upset, “What happened?”

“Why did you say that the Pharaoh is never getting out?” Nicky glared at Teddy, “That’s not fair!”

“We cannot risk letting him out,” Sacajawea explained softly, though even she did not look sure of her answer.

“So you’re just going to keep him locked in there? Forever?”

No one responded, for what could they say?

**“So everything in the museum comes to life every night?”**

**“Exactly.”**

**“And I'm supposed to do what?”**

**“You're the night watchman, Lawrence. A venerable position in this institution.”**

“What does v-venerable mean?” Nicky whispered to his dad, trying to ignore the others.

“It means someone who receives a great deal of respect from others.” Larry sighed, “...Don’t worry Nicky, I’m supposedly the new night guard right? I’ll see about letting Ahkmenrah out, okay?”

“You won’t keep him locked up?”

Larry slowly shook his head, “...I-I can’t. I don’t have it in me to do that to someone, even if they are evil.”

Nicky grinned, throwing his arms around his dad and hugging him tightly, “M’glad. I wouldn’t want to be locked in there forever, it’s so… tiny.”

**“If it can be dreamed, it can be done. Hence the 20-foot jackal staring at you. Don't make eye contact. Your job is to make sure that everyone stays inside the museum… because if the sun rises and anyone's on the outside… we turn to dust.”**

**“You turn to dust?**

**“Dust.”**

**“Really?”**

**“Really.”**

The screen faded to black, leaving them all wandering what was coming next. Ahkmenrah couldn’t help how his body seemed to be reacting before his mind could even fully comprehend what happened. His tablet was in danger. He was surrounded by people who wanted him gone and he was essentially naked. He only had his bandages and he did not know how much longer he would last in them, being out of his sarcophagus gave him more air to attempt to breathe in through the bandages but he still was not getting enough air. It was making his head spin and his body tired…

Why was he here? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can find trailers for the second and the third movie but for some reason I can't find the trailers for the first movie at all. I may be searching in the wrong places but I'll keep looking! Until then, I am having them view scenes from the movie script I found online.

**Author's Note:**

> Actions
> 
> 'Thoughts' -Italicized
> 
> "Random Voice speaking" -Italicized
> 
> Trailer - Bold


End file.
